E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for the university, said the anonymous threatening message was found Monday night and prompted police to immediately search the building for suspicious objects or packages.

Hickman Hall is a classroom building that is used for political science and English courses, both undergraduate and graduate.

Police officers made another search of the building Tuesday morning with a K-9 unit, but found nothing, Miranda said. Officers were stationed at the building all day Tuesday, he said.

In an e-mail sent to the entire campus community Tuesday, Jay Kohl, vice president of the university for administration and public safety, said "the threat has not been substantiated," but he said "the investigation is ongoing."

"Rutgers takes any threat to the campus community very seriously," Kohl said. "We will do all we can to find the person or persons responsible for this message. Posting threatening messages is a criminal act and those responsible will be prosecuted."

He asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Rutgers police Detective Sean Skala at (732) 932-8025. Officials would not say who found the message or identify the campus building where it was found.

TONY KURDZUK/THE STAR-LEDGERIn a 2007 photo, a design on the sidewalk outside College Hall, one of the first buildings made part of the College for Women in 1918, now called Douglass College.